3818 N. Borthwick (The Fred)

Our taste runs a bit “modernist”… and we occasionally stray from the 1911 Craftsman style of the building. The kitchen has some of this going on, with the glass and aluminum upper and blue-grey lacquered lower cabinets.

The main wall of cabinets was new in 2005. Full-extension drawers are deep enough to swallow your biggest pots and pans. The upper cabinets are 39" high. And we installed a microwave cabinet and some pull out wire baskets. The double sink has an integrated drainboard and pull-out sprayer faucet. The gas range and side-by-side fridge (with ice-maker and chilled, filtered water dispenser in the door) and dishwasher were new in 2005. The countertops are beech butcher block.

The original built-in sideboard and pantry cabinets have new polished-nickel hardware, fresh paint, a new cutting board and butcher block countertop. The sideboard has the original tip-out grain bins, perfect for your recycling or sacks of pet food. The floor-to-ceiling pantry cabinet is 2' deep (did they have Costco in 1911?).

The kitchen is roomy enough (14' by 10') for a small table and chairs under the windows. Lighting is a low voltage halogen wire system on a dimmer and there are also under-cabinet halogen task lights. The floors are paint fir.